4 ms·

This is a very intuitively appealing assertion, because (almost) everyone resents being told what is in their best interest if it contradicts what they think is

This is a very intuitively appealing assertion, because (almost) everyone resents being told what is in their best interest if it contradicts what they think is in their best interest, regardless of whether or not the other person is right. To whit, I have told a number of friends (as tactfully as I could) that they were in bad relationships, because they were, and I was worried about them. Within a couple months time, all of those relationships had ended, because they were really, really bad. But the number of friends who didn't resent me for telling them that is 0. I think, in general, people are pretty awful at figuring out what is in their own best interest. That's why the obesity rate is so high, credit card debt is so crushing, lotteries exist, and casinos are so damn profitable. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that politicians are better at figuring it out. But I have no idea how you are supposed to successfully navigate life without the insight that you frequently make a lot of mistakes about what is best for yourself.

kiba 17y ago
It's primary a function of time preferences. Ceteris paribus, men prefer things that can be consumes right now rather than later. Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, credit card debt is bad, etc. However, most people succumb to shot term temptation, rather than long term gain. It is like the marshmallow experiment conducted by Standford university.(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_...) Most kids succumb before they can get the second marshmallow. However, those that wait these long few minutes will get two of them. If a man will have a low time preference, in general, he will be more wealthier than a man with a high time preference.
scotch_drinker 17y ago
Ask anyone who is obese if it's in their best interest and they're unlikely to say yes. Same for credit card debt and gambling addictions. These people know what is in their best long term interest but choose to do something else in the short term. That's different from being "awful at figuring out what is in their own best interest". People may be awful at choosing long term interests over short term interests but saying people don't know what their best interests are at all sounds condescending to me.
- rauljara 17y ago
  I don't believe it's condescending because I include myself among the great number of people who have trouble figuring out my own best interest. Case in point: gambling. I love to do it. It is astonishingly easy to convince yourself your likelihood of winning is easily 10x, 100x, or in the case of a lottery, 100,000x as likely as it actually is. Humans have a well known tendency to take small probabilities of positive outcome and act as though they are, in fact, quite likely. Even knowing this, I still frequently over estimate the likelihood of good things happening when I play poker. If that tendency right there isn't my own brain being hardwired to have trouble figuring out my own best interest, I don't know what is.
randallsquared 17y ago
This is a very intuitively appealing assertion The politically opposite assertion, which is that the members of the speaker's set know better than the masses what is in their interest, is also extremely appealing.

kiba 17y ago

It's primary a function of time preferences. Ceteris paribus, men prefer things that can be consumes right now rather than later. Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, credit card debt is bad, etc. However, most people succumb to shot term temptation, rather than long term gain. It is like the marshmallow experiment conducted by Standford university.(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_...) Most kids succumb before they can get the second marshmallow. However, those that wait these long few minutes will get two of them. If a man will have a low time preference, in general, he will be more wealthier than a man with a high time preference.

scotch_drinker 17y ago

Ask anyone who is obese if it's in their best interest and they're unlikely to say yes. Same for credit card debt and gambling addictions. These people know what is in their best long term interest but choose to do something else in the short term. That's different from being "awful at figuring out what is in their own best interest". People may be awful at choosing long term interests over short term interests but saying people don't know what their best interests are at all sounds condescending to me.

rauljara 17y ago
I don't believe it's condescending because I include myself among the great number of people who have trouble figuring out my own best interest. Case in point: gambling. I love to do it. It is astonishingly easy to convince yourself your likelihood of winning is easily 10x, 100x, or in the case of a lottery, 100,000x as likely as it actually is. Humans have a well known tendency to take small probabilities of positive outcome and act as though they are, in fact, quite likely. Even knowing this, I still frequently over estimate the likelihood of good things happening when I play poker. If that tendency right there isn't my own brain being hardwired to have trouble figuring out my own best interest, I don't know what is.

randallsquared 17y ago

This is a very intuitively appealing assertion The politically opposite assertion, which is that the members of the speaker's set know better than the masses what is in their interest, is also extremely appealing.